Charlie’s big dillemma
In the wake of a slew of federal corruption arrests in Broward County, including former county mayor/commissioner Joe Eggelletion, former Miramar commissioner Fitzroy Salesman and school board member Beverly Gallagher, Governor Charlie Crist faces the task of replacing two Democratic officeholders, one white, one black (Salesman was already out of office, having been removed for waving a gun around at Winn Dixie when a fellow customer tangled with him over a lack of open check-out lanes … go figure…)
In the case of Eggelletion, that means replacing a politician whose district is more than 70 percent black and almost entirely Democrat, in the most Democratic county in Florida. Of course, Republicans, particularly Black Republicans, who are tiny in number (and getting tinier) but big on grievance, want Crist to put a Republican in the seat. Would that be a problem for the vast majority of Eggelletion’s constituents? You betcha! So what’s a guvnah — who’s generally well-liked by black folks, even when he’s doing his damndest to fake it for the wingers and avoid a tough primary with RedState.com’s fave, Marco Rubio, while holding onto enough credibility with the middle to win the general election — to do?
Poor Charlie must locate that rarest of beings: a Black Republican most Democrats won’t hate.
If I were Charlie Crist, my first call would have been to Alcee Hastings. He’s got the answer right in his office — his chief of staff, Art Kennedy, is Black, Republican, and a gentleman. He’s liked all around (including by me) and as it happens, he wants the job. Per the Miami Herald:
If Crist picks Kennedy that could be viewed as a compromise: although Kennedy is a Republican, he works for a Democratic congressman. Also, he has no interest in running for the seat at election time. Rather than collect a commissioner’s $92,000-a-year salary, he said he would put the money toward hiring employees.
“I think I can bring back some of the credibility that has been lost back to the commission and community,” said Kennedy, who lives in Fort Lauderdale.
Other black Republicans who have expressed interest include Broward College Trustee Levi Williams and NAACP activist Gwen Watson, both of whom are active in the Broward GOP.
Black Democrats who have shown interest include Lauderhill Commissioner Margaret Bates, Oakland Park Commissioner Allegra Webb Murphy, former Lauderdale Lakes Commissioner John Billingsley and pastor Allen B. Jackson. Tim Smith, a former Fort Lauderdale commissioner who is white, will also apply.
Full disclosure: I know and like Levi, too. But it seems to me, that Kennedy is the safer pick. My pal Mr. Williams is more doctrinaire a Republican than Art, and would be more controversial. The dynamic, however, is fascinating. Black Republicans have gotten very little for their trouble, having bucked the tide of history and opposed the first Black president, while absorbing all the angry, too close to racist rhetoric on their side, plus the WTF looks they get from Black Democrats. And what has the GOP done for them? Well … they’ve completely ignored Black candidates like Dr. Marion Thorpe, who’s also running for Senate, though you’d never know it; and done everything they can to drive Black people away from the party, just short of chasing them away with flaming pitchforks. A little appointment doesn’t seem like too much to ask, right? Well, wrong. Broward is Democratic Country, and for Crist, Art Kennedy may be the only way to go.
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